The Attacker’s Process

There are many ways an attacker can gain access or exploit a system. No
matter which way an attacker goes about it, there are some basic steps
that are followed:
1. Passive reconnaissance.
2. Active reconnaissance (scanning).
3. Exploiting the system:
      o Gaining access through the following attacks:
Operating system attacks
Application level attacks
Scripts and sample program attacks
Misconfiguration attacks
      o Elevating of privileges
      o Denial of Service
4. Uploading programs.
5. Downloading Data.
6. Keeping access by using the following:
      o Backdoors
      o Trojan horses
7. Covering tracks